--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men are to be guided only by their…" description: "\"Men are to be guided only by their self-interests. Good government is a good balancing of these; and, except a keen eye and appetite for self-interest,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/thomas-carlyle-207_active_men-are-to-be-guided-only-by-their-self_1413830.jpg" --- # Men are to be guided only by their self-interests. Good… ![“Men are to be guided only by their self-interests. Good government is a good balancing of these; and, except a keen eye and appetite for self-interest, requires no virtue in any quarter. To both parties it is emphatically a machine: to the discontented, a taxing-machine; to the contented, a…” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/thomas-carlyle-207_active_men-are-to-be-guided-only-by-their-self_1413830.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/thomas-carlyle-207_active_men-are-to-be-guided-only-by-their-self_1413830.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/thomas-carlyle-207_active_men-are-to-be-guided-only-by-their-self_1413830.jpg) > “Men are to be guided only by their self-interests. Good government is a good balancing of these; and, except a keen eye and appetite for self-interest, requires no virtue in any quarter. To both parties it is emphatically a machine: to the discontented, a taxing-machine; to the contented, a machine for securing property. Its duties and its faults are not those of a father, but of an active parish-constable.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society should be organized around individuals' self‑interest, with government balancing those interests without needing moral virtue. **In simple terms:** Self‑interest drives society; government balances it. Key Takeaway Design institutions that align incentives. Themes politics economics human nature government ethics Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy design - business regulation - taxation debates - public administration Key Concepts liberalism public choice theory social contract Questions to Reflect On - How can self‑interest be aligned with common good? - What safeguards prevent abuse of power? A Different Perspective May overlook collective welfare and moral responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appetite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Good government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-interest/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Ethics doesn't require us to ignore our self-interests or demand a life of self-sacrifice. It requires that we know the difference between what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/ethics-doesn-t-require-us-to-ignore-our-self-interests-or-demand-a/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interests, never to their mercy or gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-13-when-asking-for-help-appeal-to-people-s-self-interests-never/) [The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/) > [Do business managers have a commitment to anything more than the success of their company and to making money? It would be hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/do-business-managers-have-a-commitment-to-anything-more-than-the/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-some-self-interest-behind-every-friendship-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't believe we're only motivated by our own self-interests. Often out of crisis comes this enormous wellspring of generosity and motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/i-don-t-believe-we-re-only-motivated-by-our-own-self-interests-often/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [The idea of the self interests me a great deal. What is the self? And finding yourself, and which self? In a way, we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-morley/the-idea-of-the-self-interests-me-a-great-deal-what-is-the-self-and/) [Malcolm Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-morley/) > [As our self-interests differ, so do our feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/as-our-self-interests-differ-so-do-our-feelings/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [Recognize and respect mutual self-interests, then build creative collaborations to serve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/recognize-and-respect-mutual-self-interests-then-build-creative/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [Every good government is made up of good families. The unit of good government is the family, and anything that tends to destroy the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/every-good-government-is-made-up-of-good-families-the-unit-of-good/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Good government is good politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-daley/good-government-is-good-politics/) [Richard J. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-daley/) > [I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-always-believe-that-ultimately-if-people-are-paying-attention-then/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There is no right government except good government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/there-is-no-right-government-except-good-government/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [I've always believed, since my first time running for office, that good government is good politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-shapiro/i-ve-always-believed-since-my-first-time-running-for-office-that-good/) [Josh Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-shapiro/) > [Freedom requires virtue. Virtue requires faith. And faith, in turn, requires freedom. You can't have coerced state-sanctioned religion. It has to be utterly free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/freedom-requires-virtue-virtue-requires-faith-and-faith-in-turn/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! 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